The international business school INSEAD, in conjunction with the World Intellectual Property Organization released the 2012 Global Innovation Index in which Qatar topped regional peers as the most innovative economy while Sudan lagged behind. Ranked 33rd out of 141 countries globally, Qatar has retained its regional position for the second consecutive year despite recording a decline from the 26th spot it took in last year’s report. It is worth noting that GCC countries retained the top spots in the region while three of them were in the top 50 of global rankings.
For the second year running, two Middle Eastern countries have been named among the top 40 most innovative countries in the world, while rising star Jordan came in at 21 for innovation efficiency. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were ranked 33 and 37 in the 2012 Global Innovation Index, down seven and three places respectively on last year’s ranking.
Elsewhere in the region Bahrain increased five places to 41, Oman lifted 10 spots to 47 and Saudi Arabia up six to 48. Despite results showing the region is improving in areas such as institution building, human capital, infrastructure and market and business sophistication, many innovative activities in the Middle East are failing to translate into the wider economy.
It is worth noting that eight countries reported a decline in their global rankings with the highest drops registered by Syria and Sudan. The rest of the countries witnessed an improvement in innovation with the highest rise in global rankings registered by Oman.
The Mena Weekly Monitor, Bank Audi
13 July
